Grant Thornton Rimess Becomes a First North Certified Adviser

30.06.2014 TLN

Tallinn/Riga/Vilnius, Baltic Market, June 30, 2014 – The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announces that as of July 1 the auditing and business consulting company Grant Thornton Rimess is granted the status of the Certified Adviser on the Baltic First North Market by NASDAQ OMX Tallinn.

Grant Thornton Rimess will offer its advisory services to the Estonian companies aspiring to list their shares on the alternative market First North. 

“Acting as an adviser, we can offer our more than 20 years of experience and knowledge to help young and ambitious companies on First North to fulfill their growth potential,” said Artur Suits, partner of Grant Thornton Rimess. “As we are focused on consulting emerging and growing companies, joining First North Certified Advisers team is a natural step for the company.”

According to Rauno Klettenberg, the CEO of NASDAQ OMX Tallinn, it is of utmost importance that there are plenty of well-experienced advisers guiding the companies that think about listing their shares on the alternative market.

“As alternative market is mostly meant for small and young companies, it is vital to have first class advisers helping them on the journey,” said Klettenberg.

Certified Advisers guide growth companies through the application process to the NASDAQ OMX Baltic Market First North and ensure that the companies fulfill all the requirements of First North on a continuing basis. The status of a Certified Adviser is granted to sufficiently experienced business consultancy or financial intermediation companies.

There are 13 Certified Advisers on the Baltic First North in total: six in Estonia (Grant Thornton Rimess, Cresco Väärtpaberid, LAWIN, Redgate Capital, SORAINEN, and VARUL), six in Latvia (Ardente, Baker Tilly Baltics, Eventus Corporate Finance, Prudentia, Superia, and VARUL), and two in Lithuania (Swedbank, Verslo konsultacijų spektras). The Law Firm VARUL operates with the status of Baltic Certified Adviser.


About Baltic Market First North 
Through NASDAQ OMX Baltic First North, small, medium and growth companies can access the capital markets while realizing their growth potential. The regulatory approach is adjusted to the needs of companies so they can enter the market and concentrate on building their business, with an easier transition to becoming a public company.

First North does not have the same legal status as a regulated market in EU, which is a term used in the EU directive, called MiFID. According to MiFID, trading can be organized with a less complicated set of rules within the framework of a Multilateral Trading Facility (MTF).

Read more here.

About NASDAQ OMX Group 
NASDAQ OMX (NASDAQ: NDAQ) is a leading provider of trading, exchange technology, information and public company services across six continents. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, NASDAQ OMX enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today’s global capital markets. As the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 70 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world’s securities transactions. NASDAQ OMX is home to more than 3,400 listed companies with a market value of over $8.5 trillion and more than 10,000 corporate clients.